Scarf Kimono| Tutorial

I’ll admit, I’m not sure if this is a kimono or kaftan, but either way I love it! Made from an old scarf, it makes a lovely cover-up for my summer holiday! From this… To this…

Fancy making one yourself…it’s really easy….here’s how! My scarf measured 190cm x 90cm, which means the finished kimono comes to about my knees, although I am pretty tiny (4ft 10in to be exact!). I’m a size 8 (uk size) and it’s pretty loose fitting on me. This scarf had enough material to make a kimono a couple of sizes bigger or could be brought in to fit you. Once I had folded the scarf to the middle, I just laid on top of it and asked my hubby to mark out 10cm from my sides and below my arms to get measurements!

Find the centre point of the scarf (length ways), fold the outside edges to this point and pin in place (if using lightweight fabric, like me, use safety pins – regular pins just fall out!).

Sew an upside down L shape in the bottom corners, roughly 20cm in and 30cm up from the bottom. To prevent fraying sew running stitch and go over it with a fairly tight zig zag stitch. Now, cut out the L shape, about a centimeter or so away from the stitch line.

Now to cut the arm holes, cut down the sides from the top to the stitch line.

Hem the arm holes. I sewed a small zig zag stitch along the raw edges before fold it in. I found the stitching gave some structure and made it easier to work with.

Next up, the neck line, I wanted to make it a fairly low V, but you could make it shorter and make a scooped neck line – if your brave enough to sew a curved hem, which on this fabric I wasn’t! My neck line measured 13cm in the centre and 17cm down. To make it easier to hem, as with arm hole, I stitched the raw edges before first.

Stitch along the top of the kimono, from the out side of the arm hole to neck line on both sides and there you have, you very own homemade kimono! Even I didn’t think it could be that simple!